Ebookers bids for non-core MyTravel businesses

Ebookers, the online travel group, has tabled bids for parts of MyTravel, the struggling tour operator.

Ebookers, run by Dinesh Dhamija, is keen to make acquisitions to boosts its revenues to £1bn a year by 2004 and sees the assets of the former Airtours group as an ideal opportunity.

"Yes we are interested," Mr Dhamija confirmed. "We've made an approach and we've been told that when they decide they'll come back to us."

Mr Dhamija declined to say which parts were of interest. However, they are likely to include businesses which have not been rebadged under the MyTravel name, such as Cresta Holidays, Bridge and Panorama Holidays. There is fierce competition for these assets with 3i, Barclays Private Equity and Hg Capital, all expressing interest.

MyTravel declined to comment on bid speculation but said in October that it had received expressions of interest for certain non-core divisions. These include the businesses in the US and Scandinavia as well as Cresta Holidays, which offers European breaks.

At the weekend MyTravel moved to calm fears that the 400,000 holidaymakers who had booked special deals in July would not pay the deferred deposits which were due on Friday. The company said the deposits were "in line with expectations". It added that people were still booking holidays normally but declined to give details ahead of full-year results on 26 November.

MyTravel also declined to comment on weekend press reports that it had appointed Ernst & Young to advise on the review of its accounts. This brings the number of firms looking at the group's figures to three with Deloitte & Touche and PricewaterhouseCoopers already involved.

MyTravel executives are due to meet the Civil Aviation Authority on 25 November to discuss the company's £400m consumer protection bond. The CAA has the power to call the bond in if it feels the company's future is too uncertain.